The King of Jazz

I couldn't help but think of Singin' in the Rain when we saw The King of Jazz this week, particularly the "Beautiful Girls" scene in the musical. Of course, the musical takes place during the time of the first "talkie." It references early cinematic aesthetics. In that respect, I really enjoyed experiencing early cinema first hand and making connections with those old films I grew up watching.

As far as jazz is concerned, the film brought to mind Rogin's "Blackface, White Noise" article. In the article, Rogin briefly mentions how there is a point in American history when jazz comes to mean almost any kind of up-beat music. Although I didn't agree with him as far as The Jazz Singer is concerned, I think that this film is an excellent example of what he was referencing. The music in the film is more reminiscent of carnival series music. By carnival series music I mean the music of John Philip Sousa and Jean-Baptiste Arban--two musicians that, in my opinion, redefine late 19th-century music and are big influences in early 20th-century popular music. Sousa is directly referenced as his marches find their way into the "jazz" music of the film. And, of course, who can miss the sousaphones in the band. Clearly, the film is trying to represent jazz as a purely American genre. The guy with the bycicle pump reminded me of Arban's famous variation solos--here's the theme, now let me show you all the ways I can play that theme. In a way, I feel that what the film hoped to accomplish was to anglocize jazz. It certainly seems that way when the closing number--the "melting pot" of jazz--credits only European influences. The result is the dryest, straightest "jazz" music on the planet.

As far as the visual spectacle is concerned, clearly Americans have always loved their slapstick comedy. The film seems to be a predecessor to the variety shows that will be very popular in later decades. But, most of all, what stood out to me was the overly-physical spectacle in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." I wonder if the clarinet player was being so physical in order to mimic the movement that is so present in so many jazz musicians. Was the film, then saying: Look, we move too, we really are playing jazz. It certainly seemed that way to me. It made me think that the whole idea behind the film was to show spectacle for the sake of spectacle. Something else that stood out to me was how much of the "world" the film portrays in stereotype. The whole finale was one huge stereotype.